THE Senate and the House of Representatives in joint session on Wednesday approved the extension for one more year of martial law in Mindanao, as “rebellion persists and public safety requires it.”
Voting 12 affirmative, 5 negative and 1 abstention for the Senate; and 235 affirmative and 28 negative for the lower chamber, the senators and congressmen granted the request of President Duterte to extend martial law, which was originally declared in May 2017 after homegrown, ISIS-inspired terrorists laid siege to Marawi City.
Section 18, Article VII of the Constitution authorizes the Congress of the Philippines to extend, at the initiative of the President, the proclamation or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus for a period to be determined by the Congress of the Philippines, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.
According to Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, the President, as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, made an extensive personal evaluation of Mindanao’s situation and considered the security assessments of the Department of National Defense as martial law administrator, the AFP as martial law implementor, and the Philippine National Police (PNP), and has concluded that rebellion in Mindanao still subsists.
He said the Abu Sayyaf Group, Bangsamoro Freedom Fighters Daulah Islamiyah, and other terrorist groups, collectively labeled as local terrorist groups seeking to promote global rebellion, continue to defy the government, mounting hostile activities during the extended period of martial law, when at least four bombings were cited in the joint security reports.
“Notwithstanding the substantial gains achieved during the martial-law period, as extended, we cannot turn a blind eye to the reality that Mindanao is still in the midst of rebellion,” he added.
He said DI forces continue to conduct radicalization activities, recruiting new members, especially in vulnerable Muslim communities.
As the government was preoccupied with these groups, the “CTG [communist terrorist groups], which has publicly declared its intention to seize political power through violent means and supplant the country’s democratic form of government with Communist rule, took advantage and likewise posed serious security concerns,” Medialdea said.
“There may have been a significant decimation of foreign and local terrorist groups in Marawi City, a weakening of the communist terrorist groups’ and local terrorist groups’ capabilities in the entire Mindanao, and a reduction of atrocities that translated to notable socioeconomic gains, but based on certain essential facts, actual rebellion still clearly persists in Mindanao, and public safety necessitates the grant of a further extension,” Medialdea added.
“We are at the cusp of ending rebellion in Mindanao. Now more than ever, we cannot afford to show our enemies a moment of weakness in our resolve to defeat them. We cannot falter, else we lose our hard-earned progress. Thus, we call upon Congress to allow the further extension of Proclamation 216 to assist the AFP, the PNP and all other law-enforcement agencies,” said the executive secretary.
According to Medialdea, the declaration of martial law in Mindanao has resulted in the “reduction of the capabilities of different terrorist groups, particularly the neutralization of 685 members of the local terrorist groups and 1,073 members of the CTG; dismantling of seven guerilla fronts and weakening of 19 others and; surrender of unprecedented number of loose firearms,” among others.
When the original martial-law declaration of May 23, 2017, lapsed, Duterte asked for a five-month extension that lasted until December 31, 2017. A second extension was granted by Congress, continuing the period of martial until December 31. The extension approved on Wednesday will last from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019.
Opposition
Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman said he voted against the extension because there are no constitutional and factual bases for the extension, as rebellion does not persist in Mindanao, and public safety is not imperiled.
Lagman noted that the President announced on October 27, 2017, the liberation of Marawi City from the Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists and their influence, and the martial-law administrator, Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana, declared the cessation of combat operations.
The five-month Marawi siege ended with the killing of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, and Maute group leader Omar Maute.
“An extension of martial law and suspension of the writ of habeas corpus will prolong inordinately the regime of martial law to a total of 951 days. This contravenes the prescription of the 1987 Constitution delimiting the period of martial law to a short duration, since the original proclamation should not exceed 60 days,” he added.
Magdalo Rep. Gary C. Alejano, a former soldier, said, “We burden our AFP, our PNP, of things that are way beyond their mandate. This further erodes their primary mandate of ensuring peace and defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. Tila sadya nating iniiwas ang AFP sa external defense.”
Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Ariel B. Casilao said the transmitted document is impoverished and poor with common sense, as it is “pleased” with “significant progress” and “accomplishments,” but essentially demanding for more excessive measures, such as the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.
Also, Kabataan Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago said data show that human-rights abuses by state agents in Mindanao increased further with the implementation of martial law—defeating its supposed “purpose” and fulfilling the completely opposite of their “to serve and protect” mandate.
Senators vote 12-5-1
Senators voted 12-5, with one abstention, in Wednesday’s joint session.
In favor were Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri and Sens. Gregorio B. Honasan II, Panfilo M. Lacson Sr. Richard J. Gordon, Cynthia A. Villar, Grace Poe, Aquilino L. Pimentel III, Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, Juan Edgardo M. Angara, Emmanuel Pacquiao and Sherwin T. Gatchalian.
Casting the five negative votes were Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon and Sens. Paulo Benigno A. Aquino IV, Riza Hontiveros, Francis N. Pangilinan and Francis G. Escudero.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto abstained, while Sens. Nancy Binay and Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva left the joint session before voting was called.
Absent at the Senate-House session were Sen. Loren B. Legarda who was reported to be “indisposed,” and Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV who is abroad.
Escudero, in casting a “no” vote, asserted during the plenary deliberations that martial law “cannot be the new normal for Mindanao.”
Quoting the statistics that he ferreted out from resource persons—Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez and Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Ano—the senator said, “Mindanao achieved economic growth. Mindanao achieved unprecedented maintenance of peace and order on their area, and it can do so even without martial law.”
“Let us give credit where credit is due. This was achieved under the administration, not under martial law. This [economic progress] was achieved by the administration, not because of martial law but because of its proper allocation of resources where Mindanao got bigger attention. And because the AFP and PNP worked to defeat crime and criminals in Mindanao,” Escudero said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Explaining his “No” vote, Drilon declared that “martial law cannot be the new normal in Mindanao,” insisting that “there is no actual rebellion or armed uprising in Mindanao which can justify the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.”
Drilon likened martial law to antibiotics. “It is resorted to only when ordinary over-the-counter drugs have ceased to work. Unlimited resort to this powerful medicine desensitizes the body and eventually no longer becomes effective in providing the protection that it was designed to give.”
Drilon recalled that, during the closed-door security briefing for senators last Monday, Defense Secretary Lorenzana described the extension of martial law as “a psychological war to quell an armed uprising,” while the Armed Forced classified the local terrorist group as merely “a peace and order problem today.”
‘Substantial progress’
With Congress granting the President’s request to extend martial law in Mindanao, Malacañang said they expect to achieve “substantial progress” in addressing rebellion in Mindanao.
Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said: “Public safety demands decisive action from our President, whose primordial mandate is to protect and serve the people. Further, it is our shared responsibility to ensure the integrity of our nation, the security of our people and the sustained growth and development of Mindanao. With the continuation of martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, we expect to achieve substantial progress in addressing the persisting rebellion in Mindanao, as well as promoting the overall security and peace and order situation in the island.”
Moreover, the Palace gave assurances that fundamental rights and liberties of citizens shall at all times be respected and that uniformed services shall act strictly within the confines of their mandate.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is backing the PNP and the AFP’s bid to extend for the third time the implementation of martial law in the provinces of Mindanao.
Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said he sees no legal impediment as long as the recommendation is based on facts and a truthful assessment of the peace and order in the region.
“We have no reason to doubt the truthfulness of the reports of our armed forces on the continued existence of rebellion and the requirement of public safety in Mindanao,” Guevarra said.
“For as long as the factual basis subsists, the DOJ supports the further extension of martial law in Mindanao,” he added.
With Bernadette D. Nicolas and Joel R. San Juan
Image credits: Nonie Reyes